


Neighborhood Watch

by thatwriterlady



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bullying, Dean and Castiel are married, Doctor Castiel, Doctor Dean Winchester, Established Relationship, Family, Friendship, Homophobia, Love, Loyalty, M/M, Protective Neighbors, Teamwork, Trust, Trust Issues, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 07:43:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8048131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Castiel and Dean move into a new neighborhood in their conservative home state.  They returned after taking on jobs at a local hospital, but being a gay married couple, they're not exactly welcome.  Moving back brought the threat of homophobia, but they are quickly welcomed and accepted by several of their new neighbors, and they begin to feel like maybe they could raise their children there without too many issues.  Except someone in the neighborhood doesn't want "queers" there, and they make it quite clear.  Now it becomes a matter of keeping their family safe, and one little act of aggression sends them reeling back to a time when they were frequently attacked.  Staying might not be worth it, not when it's them against the world, except some of their neighbors make it clear that they have their backs.  They're not alone in this.





	Neighborhood Watch

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this. It's a prompt I was given on FB, and I put my own spin on it.
> 
> So, there is going to be mention of homophobia and there will be some acts of aggression towards their family, but neither Dean nor Cas get hurt. There is mention of Dean being hurt in the past though. Just giving you a heads up. I hope you enjoy this story. I enjoyed writing it, and my beta gave me a huge thumbs up. Thank you Monijune for editing it for me!

The Doleski house had finally sold. It was about time, too. All winter the house had sat empty. A few people had come to tour it in the early spring, but it wasn’t until May that they saw new people looking at it. Jody was out watering her flowers when she saw the handsome man with the little girl on his hip walking around the exterior with a woman everyone knew to be the Realtor that was trying to sell the place. The child was little, maybe three years old at most, with a head full of honey-colored curls. She was pointing to flowers, and the man stopped each time to nod and talk to her about whatever she was looking at. Jody smiled, thinking that maybe the house would have a nice family in it again. It had been too long. New kids in the neighborhood would be a welcome addition. She really hoped the man brought his family along to see the house, and that they liked it enough to stay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Donna was trimming the bushes that ran between her house and the Doleski house when she saw a dark-haired man coming out the front door.  Right behind him was a little boy around 8 or 9.  He had a head full of messy red hair and a face full of freckles. 

 

“Come on, Dad!  Miss Nelson said there was room in the backyard for a swingset!  You’re gonna build one still, right?  You said at the new house-“

 

“Yes, Dylan, we will build you a swing set.  I keep my promises,” the man said.  The little boy’s excited grin was huge as he ran circles around his father. 

 

“Awesome!  I like this house, dad!  Can we get a dog?  Please?  _Please?”_

 

Donna chuckled, drawing the man’s attention.  He was very handsome, and his smile was warm and friendly. 

 

“Hello, how are you?  My name is Castiel.”  He walked over and offered a hand to her.  She pulled off one of her gloves and shook it.

 

“Nice to meetcha, I’m Donna.  You thinking of buying this here place?  It’s a good house, needs a loving family.” She smiled brightly, and he smiled right back.

 

“Actually, we’ve already bought it.  We move in this weekend.  We’ve been bringing the kids by when we have the time.  The baby won’t care, she’s only 6 months old.  As long as she has a place to lay her head and sleep, she’s happy,” he laughed.

 

“Oh!  You have a baby!  I babysit if you and your wife ever need some time alone, _if_ you know what I mean.”  She winked before grinning.  Castiel laughed, but it sounded a bit strained to her.  She wondered if she had said something wrong.

 

“Uh, I know this state, and how…negative it can be.  I’m married, but not to a woman.”  He was wringing his hands nervously as he spoke, the silver band on his left hand catching in the sun and shining brightly.

 

“Oh, well nothing wrong with that!  Welcome to the neighborhood!  What is this handsome fella’s name?”  She nodded towards his son.  Castiel visibly relaxed and turned to hold out a hand to the boy. 

 

“This is our son Dylan; he’ll be 8 next week.  We also have a 2 1/2-year-old, Abby, and a 6-month-old, Rosie.”

 

“Oh, I’ll babysit if you ever want!  I love kids!  I’m on the police force.  Chief is actually on the other side of you, and that’s Jody.  She loves kids too, but she lost her son about 20 years ago.  It will be so nice to see new little ones joining in.  This is a wonderful area for families, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”  She still had the most contagious smile, and he couldn’t help but smile back.

 

“I think my husband will be very happy to hear that.  He was a bit worried and wanted us to move somewhere more accepting, but we both just took on new positions at Mercy General, and we can’t afford to miss out on the added income.  I told him that we’d have to make do and teach the kids how to rise above any ignorance we might encounter.”

 

“Oh, are you a doctor?”  she asked.

 

“I am.  So is my husband.  He’s taking over as head of emergency care, and I’m taking over as head surgeon.” he replied.

 

“That’s wonderful!  Mercy Gen is a good hospital; you’ll both like it there, I think.  Oh look, that’s Jody now.  Jody!” 

 

Donna waved and jumped up and down until the other woman noticed her.  Castiel turned around to see a woman dressed in full uniform, gun still on her hip, walking down the sidewalk towards them.

 

“This here’s our new neighbor, Castiel!  He’s a doctor!  This is his little guy Dylan.  He and his husband have 3 kids.  I told him we’re gonna welcome them to the neighborhood.  It’s nice to have another family here, don’tcha think?”

 

Jody smiled and offered a hand to Castiel.

 

“Welcome to the neighborhood.  I saw a man out here a few days back with a little girl.  Is that your husband?”

 

Castiel nodded as he shook her hand.  “Yes, Dean came to check on the plumbing, and he picked Abby up before coming over.”

 

“So, 3 little ones, huh? Must have your hands full.” Her smile was warm and friendly.  He had a good feeling about this house and the neighborhood.  If both women were so welcoming and friendly, maybe others would be, too.  Dean would be glad to know that.

 

“It can be trying at times, but we always wanted a big family. We’re thinking of having maybe one more, though Dean has his fingers crossed it’ll be twins.”  He felt himself relaxing as he chatted with these ladies.  They were nicer than he could have hoped for.

 

“We have a block party every summer in June, and we really want your family to come so we can introduce you to everyone.  Do you bake?  Or cook?  Everyone brings a dish and we just do this fantastic, big old potluck, you betcha, don’t we, Jody?”  Donna looked to her friend and neighbor, who nodded.

 

“Sure do.  I bring potato salad most years and I’ll probably bring it this year, and Donna here is known for her peach crumble.” 

 

“Oh, Dean loves to bake.  He makes the best pies from his mother’s recipes.  They’ve actually won in fairs in the past.  I’ll tell him to make a couple.  Dylan here, you’ll help papa, right?”  Castiel looked down at his son, who had pulled a tablet out of somewhere neither lady had seen and was playing a game on it.  He looked up at the sound of his name.

 

“What?  Make pies?  Yeah, ok.”

 

Castiel ruffled his son’s hair before looking at his new neighbors again.

 

“I’ll talk to Dean when I get home tonight.  I’m sure he’s busy packing.  I better get home to help him; he has his hands full with the girls.”

 

“It was great meeting you, Castiel.  We look forward to meeting the rest of your family.”  Donna waved as he started steering his son towards their car, a brown Subaru.  It seemed such a practical vehicle for a doctor and father.

 

“He’s nice,”  Donna remarked once he had pulled away from the curb.

 

“I got a look at his husband a few days back.  They’re a handsome couple.”

 

“Alistair isn’t going to like having a gay couple in the neighborhood.” Donna’s smile fell, and she looked worriedly at Jody.  “I’d hate for him to chase them out of the neighborhood. Castiel seems so nice, and I can’t imagine he would be married to someone mean.  Dean must be nice too.”

 

Jody sighed and looked up at the newly purchased house.  “I’ll keep an eye on Al.  I think it’s about time we vote for a new block captain anyway.  Maybe I’ll join the running this year.  He knows better than to mess with me anyway.”

 

“I hope you’re right.  This house needs a good, loving family.”  Donna snipped a twig off the bush in front of her.  “Besides, Alistair’s an asshole.”

 

“Donna!”  Jody laughed.  She wasn’t disagreeing though.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The following Friday saw a series of moving trucks and cars pulling into the driveway of the old Doleski house.  Donna was just coming home from work to see the myriad of people moving about in the front yard, directing movers in and out. Dylan was playing in a corner of the grass near the house with a little girl that she assumed was Abby.  Castiel was directing the movers on where to put boxes and furniture while other people were helping unload other things from other vehicles. 

                                                                                                                           

“Castiel!  Oh, hey!  Castiel!”  She waved from her front yard until he looked over.

 

“Hello, Donna!”  He waved back.  After sharing words with a very tall man with nearly shoulder length hair, he crossed the front lawn until he was standing at the fence line.

 

“Got lots of help, eh?” she asked.

 

“We do.  We did hire a moving company, but family and friends came to help us unpack since we want to get as much set up for the kids as possible before bed tonight,” he replied.

 

“That makes sense.  Did you need any help with anything?” 

 

He couldn’t help but smile; she was so nice.

 

“No, there are already so many people in the house they’re starting to step on one another’s feet, but thank you.  Perhaps once we’re settled you might like to join us for dinner one night.  You…and your family?”  He wasn’t sure if she was even married or had kids of her own.

 

“No, no family.  I’m divorced.  He didn’t want kids.  I love ’em though.”  She still had that bright smile, as though none of that bothered her in the slightest.

 

“Oh, well, you’re more than welcome to come over once we’re settled.  It will be a while though.  First we have to unpack, and then we have to work on getting the kids used to the house,” he explained.

 

“Of course!  That’s a task in itself,” she assured him.

 

“Babe!”

 

Castiel turned around and motioned to the man on the front porch.

 

“This is my husband, Dean,” he explained.  The man crossing the front lawn had a tiny bundle in his arms that Donna quickly realized was a baby.

 

“Hi,”  Dean said as he came to a stop next to his husband.

 

“Hello!  It’s so nice to meet you!  Oh, is this little Rosie?  Castiel was telling me about her the other day.  Congratulations on your newest addition!”  She leaned up on the tips of her toes as she tried to get a look at the baby.

 

“You must be Donna, not Jody.  And yes, this is Rosie.  She just fell asleep.  The move has her a bit cranky, but so does her teething, so I brought her outside here for daddy to hold her so I can get the crib set up.”  He pulled down the corner of the blanket revealing a baby that was a perfect replica of Castiel.  She had the same nose and the same plush lips, which were sucking at an imaginary nipple as she slept.  At only 6 months old, she was an absolutely beautiful baby with wisps of near-black hair and long, dark lashes that touched her cheeks. 

 

“She’s so pretty!  All of your children are.”  She looked fondly over to where Dylan and Abby were playing in an empty flower bed with a shovel and a bucket.

 

“Thank you.”  Dean looked at his husband and smiled.  That made Castiel happy knowing his husband liked Donna too.

 

“Well, I’ll let you get back at it.  I hope to see you all soon!” 

 

She gave a little wave as Dean took his husband’s hand and they started back up towards the house.  Yes, she hoped to see a lot more of this family, and she looked forward to hearing the happy laughter of children in the yard again. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Castiel was trying to rock a fussy baby in a vain attempt to get her to go down for a nap, but she was having none of it.  The pain in her gums from teething had her whining as she chomped on his knuckle.

                               

“Ow, princess, that hurts.”  He winced but didn’t raise his voice.  Teething was painful.  Dean magically appeared, rattling the bottle of tiny white tablets he had run to the store for.

 

“Oh, thank _God_.  Give her some.”  Castiel propped Rosie up enough for Dean to slip three of the teething tablets under the baby’s tongue.  In less than a minute her fussing had been reduced, and she was yawning. 

 

“I had to go to 3 different stores before I found one that carried them.  I bought 3 bottles so we don’t run out again.”  Dean stroked his daughter’s head, brushing down her dark hair as her eyes slowly began to drift shut.

 

“It’s fine.  I fed her and changed her while you were out.  I just hate seeing her suffer.  I hated it with Abby and Dylan too.  These pills are the best thing I’ve ever found for teething.  I’m so glad your mother recommended them.”  Castiel kissed a now-sleeping Rosie’s forehead before laying her down in the crib.  “Where are the kids?”

 

“Camped out on the couch watching a movie.  I told them to sit still and let you get Rosie calmed down before I left for the store.  They’re still there, though it’s high time Miss Abby took a nap too.”  Dean started for the door, turning left to put the tablets in their private bath so the other kids didn’t mess with them, while Castiel headed right to go downstairs.

 

“I’ll meet you after I get Abby down, and we can start making lunch.” 

 

“I’ll be down in a minute,”  Dean called after him.

 

Downstairs Dylan was lying across one end of the couch, Abby across the other, their legs barely touching in the middle.  Castiel was glad that after their second baby had come into the picture, Dean had insisted that they would need a bigger couch.  Abby was out like a light.

 

“Don’t wake your sister,” he warned.  Dylan nodded, his eyes never leaving the screen.  As he walked into the kitchen, Dean was just coming down the back staircase that led right into the kitchen.

 

“Abby fall asleep on the couch?” he asked as he headed for the fridge.

 

“She did.  I want to have something ready before she wakes up.  There are noodles in there you can add some cheese to.  The kids will all eat it.”  Castiel said.  Dean pulled out the noodles and a block of cheddar.  While Castiel got both high chairs ready and set the table, Dean got busy making a homemade cheese sauce.  By the time Dylan wandered in hungry and looking for food, Dean was just pouring the cheese over the noodles.  Between both men they got all 3 kids seated and eating after each of the girls woke up.  It was a ballet they worked perfectly so they could get the kids fed and actually get things done around the house so that they would get some time together after the kids were in bed.  In the middle of the day like this, though, it was keeping the kids fed and occupied so they didn’t get into trouble. 

 

After Dylan had cleared the table and loaded the washing machine, he ran off to watch a movie while Dean cleaned the girls up.  Castiel got the walker set up and had just put Rosie into it when someone rang the doorbell.

 

“Not even here a full week,”  Dean joked as he watched his husband go to answer it.

 

“The neighbors are nice though.  We really got lucky,”  Castiel said before opening the front door.  A man in a white button down and dress pants stood there with a smile on his face.

 

“Hey there, my name’s Victor.  My wife Tasha and I live across the street.  I heard from Donna that we were getting new neighbors, and when I saw your cars in the driveway I thought I’d come and introduce myself.  Victor Henriksen.”  The man had a friendly, open smile as he offered a hand.  Castiel smiled politely as he shook it.

 

“Very nice to meet you.  Castiel Winchester.”

 

“Daddy!  I pay outside?”  Abby had come over and wrapped herself around his leg.  She was smiling brightly up at him.

 

“Babe?  Who’s at the door?” 

 

Dean came down the hall with Rosie scooting behind in her walker.

 

“This is another of our neighbors, Victor.  He and his wife live across the street.”  Castiel looked at his husband nervously, and Dean immediately placed an arm around his waist.  If there was one thing he understood, it was his husband’s wariness.

 

“Hey, nice to meet you.”  Victor’s smile never wavered as he offered his hand to Dean.  Dean took it and shook it firmly.

 

“Nice to meet you too, man.”

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t stop by to help when you were moving in, I was out of town for work and just got back tonight.  You all settling in alright?”  Victor asked.

 

Dean leaned down to scoop Abby up when she tried to squeeze past Castiel to get out the front door.

 

“We are, actually, thank you for asking.  Now it’s really just a matter of unpacking the little things.  We had enough family and friends helping us with the kids’ rooms and other important stuff before we have to go back to work.  We both go back Monday, unfortunately,”  Castiel replied.

 

“Well good, good.  I assume Donna told you all about the block party?  I make a mean rib.  You all coming?”

 

“I apparently have been nominated to make pies, so that’s what I’ll be bringing.  Cas here is debating between cookies or a pasta salad.”  Dean grinned at his husband, who smiled shyly at their new neighbor.

 

“It will depend on how much time the kids leave me the night before,” he admitted.

 

“I know how that is.  Me and Tasha have 2 boys, ages 7 and 4.  They keep us busy.  I always feel guilty when I have to travel and she’s left alone with the kids.”  Victor smiled at Abby who was staring at him with huge green eyes.  “Who’s this little lady?”

 

“This is Abby, our older daughter.”

 

“You’re a beautiful girl, but I bet you hear that a lot, don’t you?”  Victor spoke directly to her and Abby smiled.

 

“She hears that all the time.”  Dean agreed.

 

“Imma free.”  She held up her hand and tried to fold down enough of them to hold up 3 fingers.

 

“Not yet; almost.  Next Thursday you’ll be 3,”  Castiel corrected.

 

“They get big fast, don’t they.”

 

Dean and Castiel both nodded.  “Our son is almost 8.  I don’t know where the time has gone.”  Castiel really did wish his kids would slow down on their rush to grow up.

 

“Well, I would like to extend an invitation to you both, and your kids, to join us for dinner one night soon.  I’ll be home for the next month, so you just let me know when you have an evening free, and I’ll fire up the grill and we’ll watch the game and the kids can run around in the yard.  Sound good?”  Victor turned his attention back to Dean and Castiel as he asked.  They shared a look before Castiel nodded.

 

“That would be lovely.  We’ve arranged to have Thursdays and Saturdays off together, barring any emergencies at the hospital.”

 

“Great!  Well, next Saturday is the block party, so how about Thursday?  Say, six?”  Victor clapped his hands together and looked expectantly between them.

 

“That should be ok.”  Dean looked to Castiel, who he knew was running their schedule through his head.

 

“Yes, we can be there at 6.” 

 

“Great!  I’ll tell Tasha.  I won’t take up any more of your time.  You all have a great afternoon.”

 

With that Victor turned and headed down the stairs back to his own house.

 

“We really lucked out picking this house,” Castiel said as he closed the door.

 

“Yeah, I’d say.  I just hope the rest of our neighbors are as nice as these few have been.”  Dean was already walking back to the living room with Abby still on his hip.  Rosie raced along behind him in her walker.  Castiel’s buoyed mood was tamped down by his husband’s words.  Hopefully at the block party they’d get a real idea of who might cause them problems.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner Thursday with the Henriksen family was nice, and Tasha turned out to be as friendly and welcoming as her husband.  Their boys were adorable and spent the evening tearing around the yard with Dylan.  Abby tried her best to keep up and by eight she was fall-down tired.  They took the kids home and put them to bed, then spent the rest of the night making love.  Friday Castiel dropped Abby and Rosie off at daycare while Dean got started on the pies with Dylan.  Castiel came home to do more unpacking while his husband and son monopolized the kitchen.  He got the office he was sharing with Dean unpacked along with the room adjacent that they were using as a library.  While the pies were cooling, Dean’s brother arrived with the girls.  One of the reasons things worked so fluidly for Dean and Castiel was that they had a wonderfully supportive family that pitched in to help whenever they needed it.  On Fridays Sam got off work early and picked the girls up from daycare, bringing them home to where Castiel was usually already home and waiting.  Sam’s own son Drew was with him as he walked in the door.  Dean met him, taking Rosie out of her carrier and ushering Abby into the living room so she could watch the movie Dylan had put in for her.  Drew joined them.

 

“Where’s Cas?”  Sam asked.

 

“Unpacking.  There’s a block party tomorrow, so I was baking pies for it and keeping Dylan out of his hair for a while.  After I get the kids to bed he’s probably going to make a pasta salad.  I doubt he’ll have the energy for cookies.”  Dean got Rosie settled in her pack and play with toys before going in search of his husband.  Sam tagged along, leaning against the doorframe as Dean entered the library.  Castiel looked up from the books he was slipping onto one of the shelves.

 

“Oh, is it that time already?  The girls are home?  I have to get dinner in the oven!”  Castiel shoved the last book into place and went to leave, but Dean caught him, wrapping his arms around his waist.

 

“It’s ok, baby.  I popped a casserole in already.  We’re ok.  Take a breather.”

 

Castiel took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  As Dean wrapped his arms around his waist, Castiel leaned into him.

 

“Thank you, sweetheart.  I just lost track of time.”

 

“It looks good in here.  We’re almost done organizing everything now.”  Dean looked around.  Castiel had managed to unpack every box and place every book on the shelves that lined the walls.  He’d even hung the art, their degrees, and pictures of the kids.  Aside from putting together his computer and putting his files in the file cabinet, it was all pretty much done.

 

“You guys amaze me with how much you managed to get done in a single week.  You put me and Madison to shame.  When we moved it took us months to unpack everything,”  Sam said.

 

“We offered to help.  You chose to do it yourself,”  Dean reminded him.  Sam chuckled and shrugged.

 

“We were young and naïve.  Thought we could do it all ourselves.  I’m glad you guys asked for help.”

 

“With the kids it would have taken us forever.  We needed to reestablish their routine and get them settled in as quickly as possible.”  Castiel took Dean by the hand and led both men out of the room and back to the living room.  The kids were all sitting on the floor, Abby parked between her brother and her cousin.

 

“Madison working late?”  Dean asked his own brother.

 

“No, she took the baby to this new baby yoga class.  It’s me and Drew til she gets home.”  Sam sat down on the couch, and Abby crawled up into his lap.  She curled up in his arms, balancing her head on his chest and drawing her knees up so her feet rested on his thigh.  She was so tiny in his arms, and it never failed to make Dean smile seeing how well his brother had bonded with his children.

 

“Do you want to stay for dinner?  There’s plenty,” he said.

 

“Yeah, sure, if you don’t mind.  It saves me having to cook for just me and Drew.”  Sam’s fingers were running absently through Abby’s hair as he looked at the TV. 

 

“Nah, we don’t mind.  I’ll go toss a salad together.”  Dean kissed his husband softly on the temple before heading to the kitchen.  As Castiel took a seat on the other end of the couch he thanked God for having such a wonderful family, and so many in their extended family that were great too.  His feelings about moving into this house were getting better all the time, and he was looking forward to the block party tomorrow. 

 

 

“They’re beginning to set things up out there.  How do these things actually work?  Do we bring out our own collapsible table or what?”  Dean was standing in the living room peeking out at the street where people were milling about, setting up tables, grills, chairs, and a giant ball pit.  Oh, the kids were going to _love_ that.

 

“It starts at noon, but we don’t have to be out there right at that time.  Yes, we bring our own table out, and our own chairs.  I want you to bring the umbrella around from the back yard, too, so the girls don’t get sunburn while we’re sitting out there.  Once the table is set up I’ll bring the food out.  Then you can help me with the kids.”  Castiel was busy finishing up wiping down the counters and could see Dean standing by the window.

 

“Alright, I’ll go and get the table and stuff now.”  Dean dropped the edge of the curtain and started for the back door.

 

“Would you grab the flag, too?  It’s June 1st.” 

 

Dean paused, frowning.  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

 

“I should hide my pride because we’re in a new place?  Some of our neighbors already know we’re a gay couple living here and after today the rest will know.  I am not going to hide.  What does that teach the kids?”  Castiel was standing with his hands on his hips and war flashing in his blue eyes.  Dean knew better.  This was not a fight he would win.  In fact, it wasn’t even a fight he wanted to have.  He was proud and didn’t want to hide either.  The flag would go up, just as it had every June 1st for their entire relationship, and just as it would continue to.

 

“I’ll grab it too.  I just thought maybe you’d want to put it up tonight, after we talk to the neighbors.  But if you want it up now, I’ll put it up now.”

 

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Castiel called after him as he headed out the door.

 

 

 

“Oh!  Can I hold her?  Is she ok with strangers?”  Donna was practically bursting with excitement as Dean sat down with Rosie.

 

“She’s fine with everyone.  Have a seat.”  He motioned towards his husband’s empty chair, and Donna quickly sat down.  She took the baby when she was handed over.

 

“She is so beautiful!  I thought she was when she was sleeping but she’s even more so when she’s awake.  Her eyes are so blue!”  Donna gushed.  She smiled at the baby who gurgled and pulled at her ponytail.

 

“Yeah, she gets that from Cas. Gets her temper from him, too,” he chuckled.

 

“I heard that.”  Castiel shot him a look of reproach as he set his pasta salad down on the table next to the three pies Dean had made.

 

“Can I ask a question, or is it maybe too personal?”  Donna looked between the two men, hoping one would say it was ok.

 

“Depends.  If it’s about our sex life, then yes, it’s too personal,”  Dean replied.  He grinned when her eyes widened and her cheeks turned red.

 

“Oh no, I would never ask about _that_!  I was wondering, how does it work when the marriage is same sex, for having kids, I mean.”

 

“Oh, that’s a simple answer, actually.  We work with a surrogate, a friend of the family.  She is the mother to all 3 of our kids.  Dean and I both tossed in our DNA for Dylan, not wanting to know who the biological father was, but when we had Abby, I wanted him to be the biological father.  When we decided we wanted another one, I donated.  The next one we plan to toss both in again,”  Castiel explained.

 

“Well that makes sense.  Someone must carry the gene somewhere for red hair.”  She nodded towards Dylan, who was running around with Victor and Tasha’s boys, throwing water balloons.

 

“Yes, his surrogate has red hair,”  Castiel said.

 

“I’ve thought about that, you know.  Getting a sperm donor and just having my own baby.  I’d like to have kids, you know?  They’re great.  I just started seeing a pretty awesome fella, and well, maybe if it works out I won’t need to go that route.”  Donna rubbed noses with Rosie, smiling when the baby babbled happily to her.

 

“I hope things work out for you both.  Children are a blessing, and we are grateful to have ours,”  Castiel told her.

 

“You’re absolutely right about that.  Come on, I’ll introduce you to some of our other neighbors.”  She stood up and once Dean was on his feet, she handed Rosie back to him.

 

“Where’s Abby?” he asked.

 

“Right there, playing with that little girl.”  Castiel nodded towards a toy kitchen someone had brought out.  Abby was pretending to cook with another little girl right about her age.

 

“Ok, introduce us then,”  Dean said.  Donna smiled brightly.

 

“You betcha!”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next hour was spent with Donna introducing them to all their new neighbors, one by one.  It was dizzying trying to remember all the names and stressful as they tried to gauge the reactions everyone had to a same sex couple moving into their neighborhood.  For the most part, everyone seemed either glad to have them or at least politely indifferent. 

 

“Who’s that?”  Dean nodded towards a tall, thin man working a grill at the far end of the street.  Donna followed his gaze and, like a switch had suddenly been thrown, her bright, cheery smile instantly disappeared.

 

“That’s Alistair Crane.  You want to stay on his good side, and to do that, you avoid him completely.  He’s not a nice man.”

 

Castiel was now holding the baby and instinctively he stepped closer to his husband.  Dean put a protective arm around the man’s shoulders and steered them back towards their table.  Donna quickly followed.

 

“Hey, guys.  How are you enjoying things?  Donna introduce you to everyone?”  Jody looked different in a sundress with a beer in hand.

 

“She did.  Most everyone is nice,”  Castiel replied.

 

“I didn’t introduce them to Alistair, though,”  Donna said softly.

 

“Don’t.  I’ll handle that one.  I’m sure he’ll notice and come over to introduce himself at some point.”  Jody patted the woman on the shoulder before turning back to Castiel and Dean.  “So, fellas, how long have you two been married?”

 

“Twelve years, but we’ve been together 30.”  Castiel smiled at his husband and Dean leaned in to steal a kiss.

 

“Wow, 30 years.  How old were you when you started dating?”  Jody asked.

 

“I was 13, he was 15.  I had never liked anyone, then all of a sudden this guy moves to town, and into the house across the street.  My dad thought I was staring because Cas here has 2 sisters, both of whom, yeah, they were pretty, but I never even glanced at them.  The moment I saw him, I was just lost.  He was in high school and on the football team and even though he was older, he didn’t ignore me.  I started high school that fall, joined the freshman football team and started hanging out with Cas and his brother Gabe outside of school.  I just know that one moment we were friends hanging out and the next moment we were making out under the stars on a cold winter night just after my 14th birthday.  There was never anyone else since then.”  Dean slid an arm around his husband’s waist and pulled him close.  Rosie had fallen asleep in his arms, and she was cradled gently between them.

 

“That’s beautiful.  You stayed together all through high school, college _and_ medical school?”  Jody was impressed, and it showed in her voice.

 

“Oh, we’ve had our ups and downs, believe me, but we always worked them out.  Dean has been my rock all these years.  If not for him I might not have even gone into medicine.  He encouraged me to follow my dreams, so I did the same for him,”  Castiel explained.

 

“That’s so sweet.  Did you get married when it was first legalized?”  Donna smiled as Abby ran over and Dean scooped her up.

 

“We sure did.  The moment we could do it, we moved there and took positions at 2 different hospitals.  Eventually I transferred to the one he was working at, but that took a few years.  We moved to Chicago for a few years before coming down here.  We’re both originally from Lawrence, and we got wonderful job offers, so we came back now that it’s legal in all 50 states,”  Dean said.

 

“I admire your commitment to one another and to your careers.  It’s hard to find that kind of love and dedication in this day and age.  Castiel said you’re thinking of having more children?”

 

That got them talking about how they had grown up and how it had always been a dream of theirs to have a houseful of kids, but that they were trying to space them out a bit.  Though they wanted more, they didn’t want to overwhelm their surrogate.

 

“We pay her handsomely and she is ever gracious through each pregnancy, but the poor woman has already been pregnant 7 times; an 8th seems rather selfish on our part, though she says that when we’re ready, she’ll gladly carry for us again,”  Castiel explained.

 

“That’s wonderful of her.”  Donna looked at Jody, who nodded in agreement.

 

“You really did luck out with that.”

 

“Donna, Jody.”

 

Both women froze, turning at the nasally voice calling out their names.

 

“Shit,”  Jody huffed under her breath.  Dean’s arm tightened around his husband’s waist as the man they’d been told was Alistair approached.

 

“Hello, Alistair.”  Jody gave a curt nod, her lips pressing tightly together as soon as his name left her mouth.

 

“Who is this?  I don’t believe I recognize our new guests.”  Alistair eyed them, the corners of his mouth turning down slightly when he saw how Dean’s arm was around Castiel.

 

“Not guests, these are our new neighbors, Doctors Dean and Castiel Winchester.  They bought the Doleski house.  As block captain I thought you knew that already.”  Dean didn’t know Jody well yet but he thought he detected a slightly snippy tone to her voice.  Alistair’s frown intensified.

 

“I knew the house had sold, but I thought it was to a family.”

 

“We are a family, married 12 years, thank you very much, and we have 3 children.”  Dean’s voice was tight.  Castiel maneuvered the baby in his arms so he could free one hand.  He placed it against his husband’s chest as he attempted to quell the man’s growing anger.  Dean was not a pleasant man if he was angered.

 

“Family.  This neighborhood is full of families.  _Mothers and fathers_.  _Families,_ ”  Alistair sneered. 

 

“Ok, now that is just rude and no way to talk to our nice, new neighbors.”  Donna’s eyes darkened angrily, and even Jody glanced between her and Alistair worriedly.

 

“Hmm.  I’m going to go and talk to the Michaelsons.”  With a turn up of his nose, Alistair left. 

 

“Goodness, he’s a piece of work, isn’t he?”  Donna’s bright, sunny smile came back.  Everyone relaxed again, though Castiel was still frowning.

 

“We’ve encountered many people like him over the years.  Our apartment just outside of Cambridge was broken into once and trashed completely.  They spray painted all over the walls.  It was a nightmare.”  He sighed, and Dean’s arm went from clutching tightly at him to running soothingly up and down his back.

 

“We’ve actually experienced a lot worse than that.”  Dean lifted up the corner of his tee shirt to reveal a long gash that wrapped around from his back and curved down towards his belly button.  “I was jumped on my way home from work one evening by a nurse that had a less than positive view on homosexuals.  Almost lost a kidney because he believed I was an abomination that was going to burn in hell, and he wanted to send me there early.  He stabbed me, sliced me up, but it was right outside of our apartment and Cas heard me screaming.  Came down with a bat and beat the hell out of the guy.  Last thing I remembered hearing was him yelling that if anyone was going to hell, it was him.  I woke up in the hospital after an emergency surgery to find my husband lying in the bed with me, crying in his sleep.  I was more scared for what would have happened to him if I had died than I was for myself.  Dylan was maybe 2 months old at the time.  Things got a bit better after a while, but neither of us wanted to stay.  Ignorance, we can tolerate.  The violence is what scares us.  We don’t want our kids to experience that.”

 

“You’re safe here.  You have cops on either side of you and an FBI agent across the street.  Not even Alistair is dumb enough to mess with you.”  Jody spoke firmly, and her words were a comfort to both men.

 

“FBI?”  Castiel wondered who of their neighbors worked for the FBI.

 

“Victor Henriksen.  He’s in line to become the next director.  You didn’t know?” she asked.

 

“You know, he just referred to work as ‘work.’  Never said he was with the FBI.  We had dinner at their house a few nights ago but mostly we talked about the move, the new house, and plumbing.  Oh, and some dues that get paid to the neighborhood watch?”  Dean looked to his husband, who confirmed that question with a nod.

 

“Yes, he said there is a $35 fee that is expected but is not mandatory.  To, as he put it, ‘keep the neighborhood safe.’  But if it’s Alistair running the show, I am not sure that I feel very safe,” he added.

 

“I have cameras up, and I can angle one to cover your front yard too.  I’d get an alarm system, not because of Alistair, but just in general.  There has been a rash of break-ins in the last few months,”  Jody said.

 

“I have an alarm system, but I also have my dog, Noodle. He barks if anyone comes up my driveway.”  Donna pointed back towards her own house where a white dog with red spots was sitting in the big bay window watching the party going on outside.  “He’s a pointer,” she added proudly.

 

“I’ve seen him in your backyard. He likes Dylan, and I’ve caught him licking our son through the fence.” Castiel liked the dog. He was friendly and loved attention.  It was not surprising seeing as his owner was equally friendly.

 

“Oh, he loves kids as much as I do,” she laughed.

 

“So, I heard you brought pie.  I’m dying to try some.”  Jody motioned towards the table in front of their house and they all walked over.  A few people stopped to introduce themselves, and Dylan appeared with a plate full of food.  He plopped down in one of the chairs and started eating while Dean cut slices of pie for anyone that stopped by.

 

“You put up a flag.”  Donna nodded towards their porch where the rainbow fabric fluttered in the light breeze.

 

“We put it up June 1st of every year.  This is Pride month,” Castiel explained.

 

“Oh, now that’s nice.  I like rainbows.”  she said happily.  Jody chuckled around a mouthful of pie and shook her head fondly. Even Dean was smiling.

 

“I’m glad it doesn’t offend you.  We try and show support for everyone in the community, and we were active with our Pride center back in Chicago.  We have already contacted the one here and plan to get involved with it as well,”  Dean said.

 

“That’s wonderful.  If there’s anything we can do to help and show our support, please, let us know.”  Jody’s words were warm and genuine.  Castiel nodded, not trusting himself to speak around the lump forming in his throat.  It wasn’t like they hadn’t had nice neighbors before, but none had been this welcoming, or this kind.

 

“Thank you, that means a lot to us,”  Dean told her. 

 

“Who wants to try my peach crumble?”  Donna asked excitedly.

 

“I do!”  Dylan cried. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I think overall, that was a lovely block party.  Wouldn’t you agree?”  Castiel had just come back downstairs after getting Rosie to sleep.  Dean was lying across the couch, his hands resting on his stomach as he watched a recap of a baseball game.  Having taken out his contacts, Castiel couldn’t see the scores or even what teams were playing unless he put his glasses on, and he really wasn’t in the mood to do that.

 

“It was, save for that rude-ass introduction to Alistair.  That guy is a piece of work.  How dare he imply that we’re not a family?  Asshole,”  Dean grumbled.  Castiel lifted his husband’s legs and sat down on the couch.  He laid Dean’s legs across his thighs and sighed deeply.

 

“I don’t care if he’s an asshole or not.  What I care about is what he says in front of the kids and whether he is going to be violent.  I don’t want you being hurt again, sweetheart.  It’s one of my biggest fears.”

 

Dean dropped his legs and sat up so he could pull him into his arms.

 

“Honey, I’ll be fine.  I want you to be careful too, though, ok?  I have the same concerns and fears that you do.  I’m going to talk to a few alarm companies this week and see who has the best reviews and reasonable rates.  I also think I’m going to follow suit and install a few cameras like Jody did.  It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

 

“It makes us sound paranoid.”  Castiel turned so that his back was to his husband’s chest and let Dean hug him closer.

 

“Not paranoid, just cautious.  We have to think about the kids, ok?  They’re our top priority.”  Dean kissed his shoulder, and Castiel turned his head to give him better access.

 

“You’re right.  Do you think we should get a dog?  They’re great about hearing things we might miss if someone is sneaking around outside.”

 

“I’ve thought about it, but not till Rosie is older.  We already have our hands full,” Dean said between kisses.

 

“Alright.  But please call the alarm companies as soon as possible,”  Castiel begged.

 

“Anything to make you feel safe, babe.”  Dean agreed.

 

“Thank you.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Where’s the flag?”

                       

They’d been in a rush Monday morning as they tried to get the kids ready and as Dean was backing the car out of the garage, he noticed the rainbow flag was gone.

 

“Daddy put it up on Saturday,”  Dylan said from his seat in the back.

 

“I know, sweetheart, and he won’t take it down until July 1st, so I’m wondering where it went.”

 

Castiel had already left to drop the girls off at daycare. Dean was taking Dylan to his mother’s house. It had been decided that during the summer months, while they were at work, rather than put Dylan into a day camp that he didn’t want to attend, he would stay with Dean’s parents until Castiel got off work and went to pick him up. So it was just the two of them in the car. He turned on his Bluetooth earpiece and dialed his husband’s cell.

 

“Dean?  Everything ok?”  Castiel’s voice was laced with concern.  Normally Dean didn’t call him 10 minutes after he had left the house.

 

“Did you take down the flag?”  Dean asked.

 

“No, is it gone?  I hadn’t noticed.  Rosie was fussing, and I was distracted.  It didn’t blow down or anything, did it?”

 

Dean looked around the front yard, but the flag wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

 

“No, not that I can see.  Want me to pick up a new one on the way home tonight?”

 

“If you wouldn’t mind, I would very much appreciate that.  I’ll see you at home later,”  Castiel said.

 

“Yeah, love you, babe.  See you tonight.”

 

“Love you, too.”

 

Dean disconnected the call and hit the garage opener.  He waited until the door was closed, and then gasped.

 

“Papa, that’s…”  Dylan’s voice rose in alarm as he read the words that had been spray painted across the garage door.

 

“I know, honey.  Someone was very mean.”  Dean’s voice was tight.  With a shake of his head he put the car in park.  “I need to call daddy again, and I need to call the police.”

 

“Is someone going to go to jail, papa?”  Dylan asked.

 

“I don’t know.  Just…”  He scrubbed a hand down his face.  Fuck, he didn’t need his kid seeing this kind of shit.  With a heavy sigh he dialed Castiel’s phone again.  After giving a brief description, he assured his husband that he had the matter under control.  It wasn’t like Castiel could just come home to help him.  He had 3 surgeries scheduled for today that he couldn’t cancel.  After they hung up he dialed the police station.  Once that call was over, he got Dylan out of the car.  A quick call to the hospital to let them know he was running late and then one to his mother had her driving to pick his son up.  She arrived at about the same time a sheriff’s car pulled into the driveway.  Much to his relief, Jody was the one to get out of the car.  The corners of her mouth pulled down into a deep frown as she took in the damage done to the garage.  Dean was talking to his mother when she walked over.

 

“Let me get my son out of here first, ok?” he asked softly.  Her expression eased, and she smiled down at Dylan before nodding to Dean.

 

“Cas will pick him up about 5:30, ok?  He had breakfast and his bag is filled with things to keep him occupied.  Please don’t let him tell you that we said it’s ok to watch TV all day because it is most certainly not ok.  If you need anything, please call one of us.”  Dean kissed his mother’s cheek and then leaned down to do the same to his son.  “Be good for grandma, ok?”

 

“Yes, sir.”  His son’s eyes flickered to the garage door for a moment before going back to his dad’s face.  “You’re going to be ok, right, Papa?”

 

Dean felt a pain in his chest as he heard the concern in his son’s voice.  He plastered as confident of a smile on his face as he could.

 

“I’ll be fine, buddy.  Now go and help grandma with her gardening.  She said you could help with planting some new vegetables she got.”

 

“Call me later,”  Mary whispered before she took Dylan’s bag and ushered him over to her car.  Once they were inside and pulling away, Dean turned to look at Jody.

 

“What exactly happened?” she asked.  He shrugged and looked over at the garage door where someone had spray painted the words “Faggot” and “Queer” in red across the white paint.  It wasn’t going to be covered easily with new paint.  He was angry that his son had seen this.

 

“Cas heads out to the garage through a door in the kitchen, and he leaves the door up for me once he’s gone because I only leave a few minutes after he does.  So he didn’t notice because the door was already up.  When I went to close it, I spotted it right away.  And so did my son.”  He motioned towards the porch.  “Someone apparently stole our flag too.”

 

Jody was writing everything down.  “Well, I’ll check my cameras, see if they picked up anything suspicious.  I’m betting they came during the middle of the night while everyone was sleeping. I can dust for fingerprints, but I doubt I’ll find any.  I’m sorry this happened.  I’ll put the report in after I go check my cameras. If I can identify whoever did this on camera, I’ll go arrest them.  Either way, I’ll turn the footage over to our offices and if the person isn’t easily identifiable, we’ll do what we can to get an ID.  And at the next neighborhood watch meeting you can bet your ass I’ll have posters to hand out.”

 

He knew there was probably very little she could do, and it was frustrating.

 

“I’m calling the alarm companies today.  I’m not waiting.” 

 

“I can recommend a few good ones.  I’ll also call Donna and ask her if her dog was barking at all last night, or if she noticed anything strange.  I’ll ask the rest of the neighbors too.  I need to take some pictures now, and then dust.”  She had written down the details he’d given her on her notepad before pulling out her phone and snapping pictures.

 

“I’m really late to work.  I hate leaving this…” 

 

It was embarrassing thinking about the neighbors seeing this.  And his husband when he came home tonight with the kids.

 

“Don’t worry about it.  I’ll take care of it.”  She told him.

 

“Take care of it?”  He wasn’t sure what she meant.

 

“I have paint.  My shift ends at 2.  I’ll fix this.”  She was still taking pictures.

 

“I can’t ask that of you.  I’ll hire a company to come in and-”

 

“Stop, Dean.  I said I’ll do it, and I will.  There is no reason for you to spend hundreds for some company to come in.  For a rush job, they’ll charge double.  It angers me that someone would do this to you.  I will fix it.”

 

The look she shot him and the tone of her voice was so much like his mother’s that he immediately quieted.

 

“Thank you.  You have no idea how much that means to me.  To us.  I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.  She relaxed a bit and smiled.

 

“Now that sounds good.  Maybe with one of your pies.  Go on, get to work.  Everything will be fine here.”

 

Dean headed for his car and got behind the wheel.  He spared one last look up at her before he pulled out of the drive.  When he saw his husband later at the hospital he’d have to tell him what Jody was doing for them.  Hopefully the man wouldn’t cry. 

 

 

Castiel cried.  His beautiful blue eyes filled with water that spilled over and down his cheeks once Dean had explained what Jody was going to do for them.  Dean spent several minutes trying to calm his husband down as he wiped his tears away.  They tried to take lunch together most days, and he managed to catch Castiel between an appendectomy and an ovarian cyst removal to tell him what was going on. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After lunch he went back the ER and dealt with all the issues that brought.  By the end of his shift he was exhausted, and he still had to stop and buy a flag.  As he walked out to his car, his phone buzzed in his pocket.  He pulled it out to see a text from his husband.

 

Cas:  Don’t worry about the flag.  Come straight home.

 

He wasn’t sure whether he should be relieved or worried by the wording in the text, so he decided to just hurry straight back to the house.  As he pulled into the driveway Castiel came out of the house with Rosie in one arm and Abby holding his hand.  Jody, Donna, Victor, and Sam came out behind him. 

 

“What’s going on?” he asked as he parked and got out.

 

“Notice anything?”  Castiel let Abby run off across the lawn and handed Rosie over to Dean when she reached out for him.  Immediately Dean looked at the garage door, which was still closed.  All signs of the vandalism from this morning were gone, replaced by a fresh coat of white paint.

 

“Thank you, Jody.  It looks better than it did when we moved in.”

 

“No problem.  I checked my video, but it doesn’t reach as far as your garage door.  I don’t think whoever did it came up the driveway.  If they had, my cameras would have caught them.  I think they snuck around from the back yard."  She waved off his thank you and pointed up at the house.  “Castiel called your brother who went to Sam’s Club and bought a security camera bundle.  You now have a camera mounted on the front porch, on your back deck, on the tree here in the front yard, and on both corners above the garage door.”  She pointed out each camera to him.  When she pointed up at the porch, he noticed a new and larger rainbow flag hanging.

 

“Wow, thank you,” he was humbled.

 

“I came home, saw Jody trying to paint the garage, so I brought over a different paint.  The one she had wasn’t covering the writing.  I experienced something less than pleasant when Tasha and I moved in a few years ago. Someone wrote some rather nasty racial slurs across our front windows and the garage door, and scrubbing didn’t get it off, so I looked into paints and found some stuff that covers in one coat.  So I brought it over and helped her paint.  Went much faster,”  Victor explained.

 

“I appreciate it.  Hopefully it never happens again.”  Dean kissed Rosie’s cheek, which made the baby squeal happily. 

 

“It happened to us more than a few times, and we ended up with some broken windows too before whoever was doing it figured out that I’m FBI and I put a detail on the house.  It never happened again after that.  I’m hopeful the cameras will deter any further attacks on your home and any upheaval it caused in your lives.  Some people are just jerks, but we want you to know that not all of us are.”

 

Dean had a lump in his throat, and he didn’t trust himself to try and talk around it.  Instead he smiled and nodded.  Thankfully Castiel spoke up on their behalf.

 

“We truly feel blessed to have such wonderful, thoughtful neighbors such as yourselves.  In the past we were made to feel very unwelcome and in just the short time that we have been here, you have all gone out of your way to not just accept us, but to let us know we are wanted here.  You have no idea how much that means to us.  Thank you for that.”

 

“Hey, that’s what neighbors are for.”  Victor patted his arm before starting to walk towards his house.  “You all have any more problems, you let Jody know, but you let me know too.  I’ll see what I can do from my end.  We have our suspicions as to who did it, but without tangible proof, there’s not a whole lot we can do.  If we really want to keep this neighborhood safe, we need to work together, watch each other’s backs.  Like a real neighborhood watch.  I’ll catch you all later.”

 

“Would you and Donna like to join us for dinner?”  Dean asked.  Jody and Donna both smiled.

 

“We’d love to.”

 

Castiel had a casserole in the fridge, and he popped that in the oven.  Sam was staying as well and Dean found Drew and Dylan up in Dylan’s bedroom playing with Legos.  As they sat around eating, they discussed the vandalism further.

 

“Noodle was barking around 3, but not so much so that I thought someone was nosing around my property, so I didn’t get up.  I’m wishing now that I had.  I can’t see your garage from my front windows, but maybe I’d have seen them moving around.  I should have let him out, let him have a go.”  Donna seemed upset with herself, and Castiel patted her hand where it rested on the table.

 

“It’s alright.  I just find it rather ironic that less than 48 hours after putting up our flag and everyone on the block meeting us, we were the targets of a hate crime.  I don’t doubt that it’s one of the people we met Saturday.  All I can do is hope that it was a one-time thing.  I don’t want our children getting hurt over this.”

 

“We’re going to be extra vigilant, especially when the kids are outside playing,”  Jody promised.

 

“I hooked up the cameras, and they come with an app that will allow you to monitor the house from your phones and computers when you’re away from home.  No matter where you are.  It’s connected to your home internet.  You can hit a button, and it will record, too,”  Sam said.

 

“Let me know how much that is so I can pay you back.”  Dean was thankful for the cameras, but he didn’t like owing anyone anything.

 

“Nah, we needed to get you guys a housewarming present anyway, and this just worked out better than the casserole dishes we were thinking of getting you guys.”  Sam laughed.

 

“I’ll feel much safer, thank you,”  Castiel told him.

 

“Then it was worth it,”  Sam replied.

 

“Why do people want to be mean to other people like that? Those were mean words.  Grandma said that sometimes people aren’t nice and we can’t know why they’re not nice. She also said just because someone is mean to us, we shouldn’t be mean back.  She said it’s st-st…”  Dylan frowned as he tried to recall his grandmother’s words.  “Stepping on their level?”

 

“Stooping to their level,”  Castiel corrected.  “And she’s right.  Being mean just because someone else is mean to us does not fix the problem.  Yes, those were hurtful words that were meant to scare us, but we wouldn’t be any better than them if we stooped down to their level and did something mean back.  But I want for us to feel safe in our home, that’s why Uncle Sam put in the cameras and why papa and I are going to get an alarm system for the house.  We can’t stop all the mean people from doing or saying mean things, but we can do our best not to let those words upset us.” 

 

Dylan’s brow furrowed as he considered his father’s words.  After a moment he put his fork down, stood up, and came around the table to climb into Castiel’s arms.

 

“Do they say those things because you love papa?  Uncle Bobby said some people don’t know real love even if it smacked them in the face, and that sometimes they’re just jealous.”

 

Castiel held his son close, looking sadly over his head at Dean.

 

“Yes, those mean words were because the person that wrote it doesn’t like that papa and I are married.  There is nothing wrong with papa and me being in love with each other.  I’ve explained this to you before, remember?  That sometimes people think that love should only take place between a man and a woman.  But we talked about how it’s the love that is important, not the gender of the people.  That a man can love another man, and that he can be in love with that man, like me and papa, and that women can love and be in love with other women, like Auntie Charlie and Auntie Gilda.  Uncle Sam had a boyfriend before, and so did Uncle Gabe.  Aunt Charlie had a boyfriend a long time ago, too.  Sometimes people just love other people, and that’s all ok.”

 

“I don’t want anyone to hurt you, Dad.”  Dylan wrapped his arms around Castiel’s chest and clung to him.  This was what he was most scared of, their kids being affected by this bigotry and hatred.

 

“Dad and me, we’re tough, buddy.  We’ll be ok,”  Dean reached over to rub his son’s back.

 

“We’re all going to work together to make sure your family stays safe,”  Donna added, her voice full of determination.  Jody nodded in agreement.

 

“Ok.”  Dylan’s voice was small.  He was a frightened little boy, and all his fathers wanted was to ease that fear.  In a perfect world he’d never experience it at all.  This damn world was far from perfect though.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the week flew by, but Castiel was on edge the entire time.  He woke up every morning expecting more vandalism, but there was none.  The flag hung proudly, and the newly painted garage door was still white.  On Saturday Dean decided to fire up the grill and invite over the Henriksens, Jody, Donna and her boyfriend Doug, and the Shurleys, who lived in the house next to Victor and Tasha.  He was glad they had put up the swing set for the kids, and now there were 7 little ones all happily playing on it.  Rosie was sitting on a blanket in the grass with Becky and Chuck Shurley’s 8-month-old daughter, Laura.  Becky was keeping the babies entertained with soft books and teething rings while Castiel and Donna kept an eye on the other kids.  Dean and Victor manned the grill while Tasha and Jody kicked back with Chuck and Doug drinking beer and discussing the game that was coming on that evening.  It was a pleasant afternoon until they heard the screeching of tires on the street out front and then the breaking of glass.  It was followed by the sound of something exploding very close by.

 

“Daddy!”  Dylan cried and ran to his father.  Castiel swept the boy up into his arms while Abby burst into tears a few feet away.  He grabbed her too and met Dean halfway across the yard to pass her off.

 

“Stay here,”  Jody ordered.  She and Victor headed back into the house while Donna and the others gathered the rest of the kids together.

 

“What the hell was that?”  Dean wondered aloud.

 

“It sounded like someone broke our picture window.”  Castiel carried Dylan over to the table and sat down.  Dean was still trying to console Abby, and he saw that Becky and Tasha were trying to do the same with the babies.  When the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance, Donna headed for the house.

 

“Sit tight everyone, I’m just going to go and check.”

 

Dean wanted to find out what was happening, but the look of fear on his husband’s and son’s faces kept him rooted to his seat.  Instead he called his brother to come and pick up the kids.  Tasha handed Rosie over, and she immediately curled herself around her sister.  He hated that his children were so damn scared.  Jody returned, her grim expression telling them all that they had been the victims of another hate crime. 

 

“My brother and sister-in-law are going to be here any minute.  Can we not talk about this until they get here?  I asked them to come up from the alley, so the kids don’t see.”  His voice cracked, and he swallowed hard in an attempt to clear it.

 

“Of course.  Would you like to go pack a bag for the girls?  I’ll sit with them until you return.”

 

“They’re not going to let anyone else hold them right now.  Cas, can you go?”  Dean looked to his husband, who nodded.  He set Dylan down on the chair and followed Jody back into the house.

 

“We’re gonna go stay with Drew?”  Dylan asked.

 

“Yeah, maybe for the rest of the weekend,”  Dean replied.  His son nodded solemnly and watched the house with large, frightened eyes. 

 

“Is Daddy ok in there?”

 

“Daddy is ok.  Jody and Victor are with him.  They’d never let anything happen to him,”  Dean was quick to reassure him.  Dylan slid down from the chair and came to stand next to Dean’s chair.  He knew his son wanted up in his lap too, but he only had so much room, and it was currently being monopolized by his babies. 

 

Castiel came back outside just as Sam’s car pulled up in the alley. 

 

“What the hell is happening?”  Sam demanded.  “There are police everywhere out front.”

 

“Not in front of the kids, please,”  Castiel pleaded softly.  Sam quickly deflated as Dylan threw himself into his uncle’s arms.

 

“Hey, pal, you ok?” 

 

“I’m scared,” the boy admitted.  Castiel took Rosie from Dean and together they walked out to Sam’s car.

 

“I’m sorry, I only have Jill’s car seat right now.  I’ll have Dylan sit in back with the girls.  You can drop off Abby’s car seat later, ok?”  Sam said as his brother-in-law handed the baby a bottle and buckled her into the car seat.  Dean was on the other side seat-belting Abby in place.

 

“Yeah, or just grab the one from Mom’s car.  We’ll play swap later,” Dean said.

 

“Call me later, ok?  Let me know what’s up.”  Sam placed a hand on both of their shoulders and squeezed.  “I’m worried.  Let’s hope the cameras caught whoever did this.”

 

“We will,”  Castiel promised.  Sam accepted that and ushered Dylan into the car.  The diaper bag was deposited on the front seat, and then Sam was off, driving to his own house a few blocks away. 

 

“Dean, I’m scared.  For our kids, for us, and I don’t like being scared.  Can you get them to move up the installation date for the alarm?  Maybe we should get a dog, one that’s already trained.”  Castiel reached out for his husband, tangling his fingers in his tee shirt and holding on tight.  Dean pulled him close and wrapped him in his arms.

 

“It will be ok, sweetheart.  We have something we didn’t have back in Mass; neighbors that care enough to make sure we stay safe.  Let’s go see how bad the damage is and then try to get an estimate done.  If it’s the picture window, I’ll need to hire a company to come in and fix it.  If it’s one of the smaller windows I can do that myself.” 

 

Castiel allowed Dean to lead him back into the house.  Jody was standing in the living room with several other people, including Victor and Donna. 

 

“Guys, it’s not as bad as it sounded, thank God.  A side window was broken, not the big one, and that’s a pretty simple fix.  It’s the outside we have to worry about.”  Victor said as soon as he spotted them.

 

“The outside?  What happened outside?”  Castiel asked.

 

“Same as before, but worse.  Once our team is done investigating out there, you’ll need a hose,”  Jody replied.  Donna looked downright upset.

 

“Check the camera footage,”  Castiel urged his husband.

 

“Yeah, ok.”  Dean pulled his phone out and rewound the footage from the last hour.  He saw the moment a dark convertible came to a stop out front and two people in black ski masks jumped out.  One had what looked like a can of paint while the other had a large rock.  He watched in horror as someone painted across his garage door and then tossed the remainders of the paint across his porch before the other person began tossing rocks at the house.  Thankfully they had piss poor aim because only one connected with one of the windows.  They raced back to the car as soon as the glass shattered where two other people waited, also in masks.  The car peeled out and disappeared from all cameras at that point.  Everyone stood over Dean’s shoulder watching the video.

 

“I know that car.”  Jody sounded pissed.

 

“Yeah, I do too.”  Victor shook his head in disgust.

 

“Care to fill us in?”  Dean wanted to know who the hell had done this.

 

“Alistair Crane’s son, Zeke.  I’m going to bet that’s his other boys in the car too.  Dick, Christian, and the fourth is most likely his daughter, Lilith,”  Jody explained.

 

“I didn’t know he even had children.”  Castiel was saddened knowing that a man as bigoted and unaccepting as Alistair would push such hateful beliefs onto his children.

 

“We have prints!” someone outside yelled.

 

“We have prints in here too,”  someone else said.

 

“Good, get them down to the lab.  Dean, can you forward that video to me?”  Jody asked.  He nodded.

 

“I’ll send it right now.”

 

“Good.  We’ll get these idiot kids into custody right away,” she promised.

 

“God, I hope so.”  Castiel wrapped his arms around himself and frowned at the broken glass on the floor.  What if they’d been inside when this happened?  What if that rock had hit Abby or Rosie?  The thought made him sick.  Dean pulled him close, and he took comfort in the embrace.

 

“Do whatever you have to in order to stop them from doing this again.  Our kids could have been hurt today,”  Dean pleaded. 

 

“Oh, we’re going to stop them.  These kids are going to learn a serious lesson in consequences for their actions,”  Victor said.  “There’s no way they’re walking away from this one.”

 

 

It turned out that this wasn’t the only hate crime the Crane kids had committed, and having not only the sheriff but the FBI show up on his doorstep to arrest his children was enough to snuff out whatever fire Alistair had been building up to.  His wife, Abaddon, cried as her four oldest were put in handcuffs and placed in police cars.  Only their youngest, 12-year-old Eve, remained, wide eyed and frightened. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean and Castiel observed all the damage that had been done to their home once the police were gone.  Red paint had been used to write _“All fags must die!  Burn in hell!”_ across their garage door.  Other slurs had been added to the house itself, including across the front door.  The remaining paint had been chucked at the house, leaving big splashes of red that looked like blood everywhere.  Their flag had been so violently pulled from its spot that the holder had been bent and the pole itself broken.  The flag itself was a tattered mess laying across the lawn.  Their guests had taken their own kids home and Dean was certain they’d never want to come and spend time with them again, but within a half hour, they had all returned, sans children, to partake in the cleanup.  Victor had even returned with new cans of paint, and Tasha had a brand new flag pole, and a brand new flag. 

 

The cleanup would have taken a long time, except more neighbors showed up to help.  By 6 there were twenty-some people all cleaning up the red paint or painting the garage door while Dean replaced the broken glass and Castiel made sure there were no more pieces on the living room floor that one of the kids might cut themselves on.  Victor and Chuck brought spotlights, and everyone kept working until well after dark.  By the following morning the damage was all gone, and the house looked brand new.  Castiel stepped out onto the porch to get a better look in the morning light and gasped in surprise at what he saw.

 

“Dean!” he yelled back into the house.  His husband came running, worried that something had happened during the night.

 

“What?  What is it?”

 

“Come out here and see!”  Castiel stepped into the doorway in time to see his husband shuffling out in his slippers and robe.  He took Dean by the hand and pulled him out onto the porch.

 

“Everything looks fine, babe.  What were you yelling about?” 

 

Castiel pointed to all of the neighbors’ houses.  “ _Look_.”

 

Every single house on both sides of the street, save for the Crane house, had a rainbow flag prominently displayed in its front yard.

 

“Oh…”  His throat tightened and he felt the burn of tears as he looked around.

 

“I know.  I’m just…”  Castiel wiped the tears from his own eyes.  “I’ve never seen anything like this before.  I’m a bit overwhelmed.”

 

“Hey neighbors!” 

 

They both turned to see the man that had been introduced to them as Pastor Jim standing with his mower in the yard on the other side of Donna.  He was smiling and waving.  They did the same in return.

 

“Good morning, pastor!”  Castiel called out.

 

“Just call me Jim.  I hope you fellas have a better day than yesterday!”  Jim called back.

 

“Even the ones that weren’t so keen on having us for neighbors, they have the flag up too,”  Dean said.  Castiel smiled and nodded.

 

“Yes, they do.  Even if they don’t agree with same-sex marriage, they don’t believe it’s their place to judge us.  Jody was right, this neighborhood really does stick together.  It’s like one big family.” 

 

Dean grinned as he wrapped an arm around his husband’s shoulder.

 

“So, we’re good?  We’re staying?”

 

Castiel smiled back. 

 

“Yes, we’re staying.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always welcome.


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